The cheapest way to buy Minecraft in the UK

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The cheapest Minecraft for a PC that I found on 24 October 2026 cost £8.10, and it wasn't a key. It was somebody's Minecraft account, sold through Kinguin, whose account listings advise against making one your main account. That's the trouble with shopping around for this game. Every device sells its own copy, so there are a lot of prices, and the bargains mix up editions, regions and other people's logins.

So I've priced it the way a family actually buys it: by the device it'll be played on. The official store is the cheapest route I found on PlayStation and the only one on phones. On Xbox and on a PC, a key that says it works in the UK saves real money. And nobody should buy an account. The prices in the text are what each shop showed on 24 October 2026; the price panels come from our own comparison and stay current.

Which Minecraft do you need?

Minecraft comes in two versions that look alike and don't play together. Bedrock Edition is the one on Xbox, PlayStation, Switch, phones and Windows, and it lets all of those play together. Java Edition is the original PC version, the one open to mods, and it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux. Mojang's own comparison says the two can't play together, which is why its PC store sells them as one bundle, Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition. On a Mac or Linux machine you get the Java half.

If you're weighing up which one a player will actually use, kasser's 11-minute video compares the two on performance, features, mods and multiplayer.

kasser, "Java Or Bedrock - Which Is Better?" (YouTube, March 2025)

kasser, "Java Or Bedrock - Which Is Better?" (YouTube, March 2025) · Watch on YouTube

The catch is that each device sells its own copy. The £19.99 Minecraft on xbox.com plays on Xbox One and Series X|S, while the PC bundle is a separate £29.99 listing, and the phone version's Google Play page says the desktop version is sold separately. What does travel is the in-game shop: Mojang says Marketplace purchases and Minecoins roam across Windows, Xbox, phones and Switch, though PlayStation uses its own Tokens, and from 27 October new Minecoins bought on a Nintendo console stay on Nintendo.

These are the official stores' prices on 24 October 2026, with what playing online costs on top.

Where you'll play	Official store	Price	Online play also needs
iPhone or iPad	App Store	£6.99	No subscription
Android	Google Play	£6.99	No subscription
PS5 or PS4	PlayStation Store	£15.99	PS Plus
Xbox One or Series X\|S	Microsoft Store	£19.99	Game Pass Essential (£6.99 a month) or higher
PC, Java & Bedrock	minecraft.net or Microsoft Store	£29.99	No subscription
Switch or Switch 2	Nintendo eShop	£29.99	Nintendo Switch Online

That last column changes the sums more than people expect. The console stores all say online play needs the console's own paid membership, so a £15.99 PlayStation copy for a child who wants to join friends online also means PS Plus, and an Xbox copy means at least Game Pass Essential.

I'd love to know where it's being played in your house.

Where will Minecraft be played? / Reader poll

Minecraft's prices right now

This is Minecraft in our price comparison: the lowest price on each device at a listing that works in the UK, with any fee the shop's feed gives already added, and the shops behind it, official stores first.

Game prices / 1 game

Minecraft's prices right now

Game · 4 shopsMinecraftOn Xbox · also on PlayStation, Nintendo

Lowest on Xbox

£9.03

at Kinguin, marketplace. £7.30 + the £1.73 fee its feed gives; plus fees at checkout.

AdShop at Kinguin

Official stores

ShopTo.NetOfficial storeIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoRegion not stated · Download code · Xbox
£11.85No checkout fees
AdShop at ShopTo.Net

Key shops

Key shops sell keys bought from other markets or from other sellers, so check the region and the shop's refund terms.

KeycenseKey resellerIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoRegion not stated · Key · XBOX OneNo region given: check it on Keycense's page before you buy
£7.50Some ways to pay add a fee
AdShop at Keycense
KinguinMarketplaceIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoRegion not stated · Key · XBOX One / Xbox Series X|SKeys from other sellers on Kinguin
£9.03£7.30 + the £1.73 fee its feed givesPlus fees at checkout
AdShop at Kinguin
4 more from this shop
1. KinguinMarketplaceIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoRegion not stated · Key · XBOX OneKeys from other sellers on Kinguin
  £10.04£8.16 + the £1.88 fee its feed givesPlus fees at checkout
  AdShop at Kinguin
2. KinguinMarketplaceIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoEU · Key · XBOX OneKeys from other sellers on Kinguin
  £10.19£8.29 + the £1.90 fee its feed givesPlus fees at checkout
  AdShop at Kinguin
3. KinguinMarketplaceIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoEU · Key · XBOX One / Xbox Series X|SKeys from other sellers on Kinguin
  £10.43£8.49 + the £1.94 fee its feed givesPlus fees at checkout
  AdShop at Kinguin
4. KinguinMarketplaceIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoUK · Key · XBOX One / Xbox Series X|SKeys from other sellers on Kinguin
  £10.49£8.54 + the £1.95 fee its feed givesPlus fees at checkout
  AdShop at Kinguin
CJS CD KeysKey resellerIn stock · Checked 9 hours agoEU & UK · Key · Xbox One/Series X
£9.51No checkout fees
AdShop at CJS CD Keys

Compare all 8 prices

Prices, stock and regions as each shop listed them, checked 9 hours ago. Some shops pay us when you buy through these links; that never changes the order. How that works.

On a phone or tablet, just buy it

£6.99 from the App Store or Google Play is the cheapest Minecraft I found anywhere, and it's the full Bedrock game, so a phone player can join friends on a console or a Windows PC. There's no key to hunt for and nothing to redeem. I wouldn't look further.

On PlayStation, the PlayStation Store wins

The PlayStation Store had Minecraft at £15.99 for PS5 and for PS4, and nothing at the shops I compare came in under it. CJS CD Keys had a UK PlayStation code at £19.80, and ShopTo's boxed PS5 copy was £26.85 and sold out. That boxed copy is worth watching, though: ShopTo says it includes 3,500 Tokens, a pack the PlayStation Store sells for £15.99 on its own, so it's the better deal for a player who'd buy Tokens anyway.

If you already own the PS4 version, Mojang says you can download the PS5 version from the store, and a PS4 disc plays the PS5 version as long as it stays in the drive.

On Xbox, a UK-ready key beats £19.99

Microsoft charges £19.99, and this is where the key shops earn their place. On 24 October CJS CD Keys had an Xbox key at £9.51 that its page says activates in Europe, including the UK, and CJS says it charges no payment fees. ShopTo's Xbox download was £11.85; its page names no region, and ShopTo's digital terms say an unstated region means a UK code. Kinguin's sellers listed keys from £7.30 before Kinguin's service fee, which its feed put at £1.73, with each listing saying it can be activated in the UK. Keycense listed one at £7.50, but its listing doesn't state a region and its payment fee depends on how you pay, so it never sets the lowest price in our comparison.

There's a second route if the household already pays for Game Pass. Minecraft for Xbox is included with Game Pass Premium and Ultimate, not Essential, and Premium's £10.99 a month also covers online play. If you're paying for Essential just to play online, it doesn't include the game.

The Deluxe and Ultimate collections add Bedrock add-ons, character items and 700 or 1,000 Minecoins. Microsoft had them at £29.99 and £39.99 for Xbox. I'd only pay for them if the player wants those particular packs.

On a PC, buy the Java & Bedrock key

Mojang and Microsoft both charge £29.99 for the PC bundle, and this is the biggest saving in the guide. On 24 October:

ShopTo had a Java & Bedrock PC download at £17.85, with the UK among the countries its page lists.
Keycense had a "Europe" key at £15.74, with the UK among the 52 regions on its restrictions list, plus any payment fee.
CJS CD Keys had a PC key at £16.62, though its page didn't say in words where it activates.
Kinguin's sellers listed keys from £14.69 before its service fee, each saying it can be activated in the UK.
Gamesplanet, which sells as an authorised retailer, had a UK key at £22.49.

All of them are codes for the same bundle, redeemed on the player's own Microsoft account. I'd skip the Java-only keys some shops still list: the bundle includes Java, and it was the cheaper of the two at CJS (£16.62 against £19.09).

The Deluxe and Ultimate collections (£39.99 and £49.99 direct) make even less sense on a PC, because their extras are Bedrock only. A Java player gets nothing for the extra tenner.

Is PC Game Pass cheaper?

For a short craze, yes. Minecraft's PC bundle is included with Game Pass's PC plan and with Premium, both £10.99 a month after a first 14 days for £1. At that rate it overtakes Microsoft's £29.99 in under three months, and a UK key from the list above in under two. Game Pass renews itself until you cancel, so I'd only use it for a holiday's worth of play. If they'll still be building in the spring, buy it. Our page on what each Game Pass plan costs has the plans side by side.

On a Switch, mind the Switch 2 date

Nintendo's eShop charges £29.99 on Switch, and the Switch 2 edition comes out on 27 October at the same price. ShopTo had the boxed Switch copy at £24.85 and the Switch 2 game-key card at £24.85 on pre-order.

If you already own Minecraft digitally on a Switch, Mojang says the Switch 2 edition is free until the end of January 2027. That offer names digital copies, so for a new Switch 2 I'd buy the Switch 2 edition rather than count on a cartridge being upgraded. Online play on either needs Nintendo Switch Online.

Keys, accounts and regions

A key is a code the player redeems on their own account. An account is someone else's login, sold on. Mojang is blunt about accounts: buying one breaks its terms, and it treats whoever created the account as its owner. Microsoft's services agreement says account logins can't be passed to someone else. That £8.10 bargain can be reclaimed by whoever made the account, and Mojang won't help you get it back.

The same Mojang page says it can't support licences bought from resellers, so with a key, the shop is the one you go back to. That's where buying from a business matters. Under the Consumer Rights Act, digital content from a trader has to be of satisfactory quality, and if the seller had no right to sell it, you're owed a refund. Citizens Advice notes that a private individual on a marketplace doesn't give you a cooling-off period, and paying by card keeps chargeback open if a code never works.

Regions are the other trap. Mojang's help says Minecraft gift codes must be redeemed in the region they were bought for, and Microsoft warns that changing an account's region can mean buying things again. The cheapest keys on some sites are for Turkey, Argentina or the US. I'd only buy one whose page says it works in the UK, and our comparison shows each listing's region in the shop's own words, with only UK-ready listings setting the lowest price.

Players are split on key shops. In an r/MinecraftHelp thread about buying the game from a key site, one reply suggests the Microsoft Store instead, and others say they've bought there without trouble.

r/MinecraftHelp, "Buying Minecraft in Loaded/CDkeys" (December 2025)

Open thread on Reddit ↗

Reddit replies may change. The link opens the original thread.

Which way would you go?

How would you rather pay for Minecraft? / Reader poll

Redeeming the code

Whatever you buy, redeem it on the account the player will use, because it can't be moved afterwards. Xbox's help says redeemed codes can't be transferred to another Microsoft account, and PlayStation says the same of its vouchers. An Xbox code goes in on the console or at xbox.com/redeem, a PC code in the Microsoft Store or the Xbox app on Windows, a PlayStation code in the PlayStation Store and a Nintendo code in the eShop, each on an account set to the UK.

More Minecraft

If the player already has the game, here are the collections and the two spin-offs, Dungeons and Legends, which are separate games.

Game prices / 4 games

More Minecraft

Each price counts the fees its shop's feed gives. Some shops add a fee for some ways to pay. Some pay us when you buy through these links, which never changes the order. How that works. Browse every game

What I'd buy

On a phone, the £6.99 app. On PlayStation, the PlayStation Store's £15.99, unless ShopTo's boxed copy with Tokens comes back. On Xbox, a UK key from about £9.50 to £12, or nothing at all if the house already has Game Pass Premium. On a PC, a Java & Bedrock key that says it activates in the UK, at £15 to £18 against Microsoft's £29.99. On a new Switch 2, the Switch 2 edition. Never an account.

If it's for Christmas and you'd rather wait, open Minecraft's page and watch the price: we'll email you the morning after it drops, at whichever shop it is. Our guide to where to buy PC games covers the key shops in more depth, and the games price comparison has the rest of the shelf.

BallparkA daily price game